Fear ain't Faith!
by daveryship
Summary: So, Steve may become a dad. Catherine is back and Lynn isn't going anywhere. Just who is Danny shipping in this very complicated love triangle that now may involves a baby? And our SuperSeal may have to take a Ninja hiking escapade just to try and sort out his mind. Need I mention that it may not all end well? Crazy Ninja hiking escapades tend to be dangerous.
1. Chapter 1

**Fear ain't faith. Chapter 1**

 **Hey guys. It's been a while, I missed you. Here's another story, time is adjustable in this one. I hope you like and review.**

...

Danny threw his keys on the table as he entered his house. He sighed, it has been a busy day at work. His phone rang at that moment and he grimaced. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID first. Unknown number. Hmm. He answered the call with suspicion.

"Williams."

"Danny?" A soft hesitant female voice said on the other end.

"Yeah, who's this? Catherine?" He asked, recognizing the voice.

"Yeah, its me."

"Cath, hey! Uhm... what..., are you ok?" He asked suddenly alarmed. When did she get on the Island? If she was on the Island at all. There were a bunch of questions plaguing him right now. Like, why did she call him and not Steve? Unless it was something to do with Steve. Or...

"Is everything alright Cath?"

"Yeah, umm…Danny i... i really need to talk to you."

"Ok. Is everything ok? Have you seen Steve yet? Are you on the Island?"

"Yeah...umm… no..., I haven't seen Steve yet." She said, her voice hesitant and just a little shaky.

"Cath. Where are you? I'll come get you." Danny said as he took his car keys off the table again and hurried to his car. He could sense that something was wrong.

He drove to the address he was being given and wondered if he should call Steve. Before he could voice that thought, Catherine, reading his mind, told him sternly not to call Steve.

This didn't sound like Cath at all, so he drove as fast as he could. The whole time going over and over his conversation with Cath. If she was in danger he should really call Steve; the team maybe. He just didn't know what to think.

He parked outside the house. It was a neat little house in the suburbs. Was she renting it? When did she get here? He wondered as he entered the house with caution, gun drawn out of habit or maybe because Cath didn't sound quite right. She might be in trouble. And he would protect McGarrett's lady nonmatter how hard his best friend tried to convince himself that she wasn't. Danny knew better. Cath will always be the woman that Steve loved. And he would protect her in his absence, if she indeed was in trouble. Not that she really needed much protection anyways. She was Ninja Lady. Ramboet to Mcgarrett's Rambo. But every once in a while, could use some help.

"Cath?" he called as he entered the house cautiously. The door was unlocked.

Catherine was standing in the living room. Expecting him, no doubt. She looked relieved when she noticed that he had indeed come alone.

"Danny. Hey, its ok. I am... i am alone." She reassured him.

Danny took a relieved breath and put his gun away. He walked towards Cath to give her a hug but paused in shock as he got a good look at her.

"Whoa."

That's all he could say as at that moment he was robbed of words at was he was seeing.

"Hey Danny." She said softly with a smile at the look on his face. "And no, it's not a prank." She said, in answer to that look.

"Hey yourself. Not a prank, are you sure?" Danny asked incredulously, looking her over. "You ok? I got here as fast as I could only to see you looking…" He waved his hand at her in general. "Now I know why you called me and not Steve. Does he know?"

Cath turned from him and walked further into the room, she looked nervous, wringing her hands and all. "I...uh… i need to talk to you." She indicated the couch and Danny took it, looking intently at Cath. She sat down too, took a deep breath, trying to find the courage to speak.

"I..."

She faltered and he didn't help her out, just waited for her to get her bearings and start explain herself.

"I...I am pregnant."

"Talk about the obvious." Danny said, still a little winded. It still had the 'dropped bomb' effect said like that in spite of it being so obvious. "You must be like…due now?" He said questioningly.

"It's just six months Danny."

"Well you look like a drum already, what am I supposed to think? When last Rachel looked this big I was already rushing her to the hospital."

"So, I look like a drum, do I now?" She asked in mock annoyance.

"Of course, that's all you'd get from that very long speech of mine." He threw his hands in resignation.

She continued to give him that annoyed look and he gave in. " Fine, a beautiful drum then."

"Thank you very much." She said, with a smile.

He couldn't hate her. Cath had always been so sweet despite the stunts she pulled on Steve sometimes. And now she was going to break his heart again. Because, though Steve had sworn off Cath and had seemingly moved on, he really wasn't that over Catharine. And now to find that she was married to some dude and carrying his child? It was going to wreck him, and he should really hate Cath right now.

He looked at her seriously now. "Steve doesn't know does he?" It was pretty obvious but, he had to ask. Because this was serious. Like in…gigantic proportions. Much like Cath's stomach.

"No, he doesn't." she said and sighed in despair.

Danny sighed too. Nice! Just freakin' fantastic. And she had to go and call him first. So he could… what? Be the carrier of bad news to Steve? 'Oh, hey Steve, so your beloved Catherine, the girl who ran away from your marriage proposal because she wanted 'more' in the world, has…guess what…,found more. She has been knocked up by some guy in Bermuda or wherever the hell she had gone to on a mission for 'more'. It sure wasn't going to be a pretty conversation. Steve had moved on. He had Lynn now. But this was going to hurt lie a son of a bitch.

He sighed again in resignation, "So, who's the dude?"

"It's Steve." She said it so calmly, so simply.

His breath just whooshed out of him on that. What? Of all the things she could have said this was the least of what he had expected.

"Whoa… what? Cath, I am sure you know that's not how this works. You can't just…?"

"It's Steve's Danny." She emphasized with a look in her eyes that gave no room to doubt.

Well now, pregnant women did get a little delusional sometimes, he did know that was one of the side effects of pregnancy. The confusion of not knowing who the heck fathered your baby, being a major one. He knew that from plenty of experience. Not that he was the keeper of Steve's diary or anything but he did know with a certain amount of certainty that Steve had not been anywhere near Cath for the past six months or so. And this kind of thing usually required for the concerned parties to be at least within 50 feet of each other. At least in his experience it would have to be a lot shorter a distance, But, what did he know about Ninja activities, mere mortal. However, no Ninja voodoo or stunt could pull that off with the distance that Catherine and Steve maintained in the past six months. Impossible still existed in his vocabulary, even for Super Seal.

"Catherine, honey…" He tried, as if he was trying to convince a mental patient that the sun wasn't green.

"Danny! It happened. It's his. I swear." She said, a bit agitated this time.

"Ok, Ok. Let's take it from the top. How…when did this happen Catherine?" He decided he'd humour her. Steve would be the best person to dispute this.

"When we went to...to rescue Steve's mom. It just happened, i didn't think..."

Oh, oh he could see how that was possible. Well, wow then. If that was true then, wow then. That was some news. Steve was going to be a daddy. That was good news, at least he could work with that. It was better than telling him that she was pregnant with someone else's child. That would have been hard.

"It is his, Danny. It's Steve's I swear." She said again, in earnest .

"Catherine, you are six months pregnant and you didn't think to tell the father for all this time?" He asked incredulously, believing her now. "An even better question right now is , Why are you telling me all this? Why did you call me? Why aren't you with Steve right now telling him that he's going to be a father. In three months! Catherine?

"I know, I know." She was feeling ashamed, but it had taken a lot from her to come forward in the first place. "I just…I couldn't find the strength to come forward. I tried calling him countless times but…" She trailed off, her voice shaky. "I called him Danny. Right before I called you, I called Steve,..and…"

"And what? Danny questioned, still a bit confused.

"Lynn answered."

Oh, bummer. Danny grimaced. And rightly guessed what happened next.

"I hung up. Danny, I couldn't…; When we parted, I told him to move on with Lynn. Now I am here, being a home wrecker…"

"Heyyy, you're no homewrecker. Steve is not married to Lynn yet. You're still clean, I guess." He chided with a reassuring smile.

"I was going to leave him all alone Danny. To move on. He is with Lynn now and when we parted…" She stood up and started pacing.

Danny was scared she was going to start having contractions right then with how big her stomach was. Six months going on seven, things could happen. And she was agitated and scared, he could see that. Pregnant women were not by any means supposed to be agitated. Any woman, even Ninjalete here. He hoped Cath was too Ninja for any water works. That was the highlight of it all. The list of things to be aware of when dealing with a pregnant woman. The water works.

He tried to calm her. "Cath, its ok. I am sure Steve will be thrilled. Well, after a bit of a fit, of couse. I won't lie to you, he's definitely going to freak but, he's going to be trilled. I mean…hell, I am freaking out and I am not even the father here. But I am happy for you at the same time. I am trilled for Steve."

"I know." She said, then paused from her pacing for a moment. Danny thought he had won, she had calmed down finally. Then she started again, this time a lot faster. He grimaced.

"Cath…"

"Maybe…maybe I shouldn't have come here…"

"No… don't think like that. You did the right thing. One you should have done a long time ago."

"And now? It's too late…?"

"No, hey…it's not too late. This is good. This is good. Steve's going to be a dad." He said the last one in wonder and that seemed to be her undoing. What did he say?

"Oh my God, he's gonna freak out. Oh my God…" And the water works started. Even Ramboet was not immune. Crap! Pregnant women cried- check. Danny knew that one well. He had hoped Catherine being Catherine, would be an exception.

Not so.

"Hey hey hey." He tried again to calm her, drawing her to take a seat on the couch. "Alright, it's alright. Now breath." He coached.

"Danny, I am not in labour yet, relax."

Seriously? What? He wasn't panicking or anything. He knew she wasn't in labour; what was he, an idiot? He was clearly the one in control here but, come on, she was the one in tears. Catherine Rollins Lieutenant Ninjalete was in tears. What was he supposed to do? Of course, he was freaked.

"I just…I just thought maybe I could do this on my own, you know? Steve had moved on and I hated, I really really hate disrupting his life like this. So i…I don't know, I got scared. And, I held out too long." She sighed, wiping away a tear. She had calmed some though.

"I just could not think of depriving my child of his or her father. The most generous, kind, loving person I have ever met. I wanted my child to know their father." She said, in that tiny sweet voice tinged with tears.

Danny took pity, he could tell it had taken a lot from her to do this. It was way better than having to know your kid at age 5, and only because he had developed a malignant disease that needed your bone marrow. This was way better. The spilled water was not under the bridge yet.

"This is really good news Cath. Really good news. Believe that." He reassured.

"It is, isn't it?" Cath said, smiling. Absent minded caressing her stomach. She was going to be a mother. She didn't know how to tell Steve though.

"It really is." Danny agreed with his own smile. Steve was going to be a dad. He could not get over that shock. This was going to be awesome. He thought as he imagined Steve cradling a new born in his gigantic arms, freaking out at the thought of dropping him or something.

Then Cath's face dropped again. Unpredictable hormonal pregnant women. Danny cursed inwardly. What was it this time? No more water works please! He could never handle women tears very well.

"What?" He paused the question with dread.

"Well, our parting. We didn't exactly part on good terms you know. I'm not sure if he'd want me around anymore. I mean, he's got a girlfriend now. I met her. Lynn. I didn't want to interrupt his life now but i also couldn't keep this from him. I don't know..." She sighed with resignation. "The last time I went away, he told me he wasn't going to wait for me anymore. And I was good with that. At least I thought I was…but..."

Danny understood. More than anyone he knew how broken Steve had been after Catherine's last disappearing act. He'd been hurt. That as it may be, he could not hold a grudge against her for that because he knew she still loved him. She was just Ramboet, not much different from Steve for that matter. Plus this. This changed the game to a whole new level.

He still didn't understand why Catherine didn't just go to Steve with this though. Yeah, she was scared, but she had got the courage to come this far. Alright, she needed a little help going the distance. He applauded her coming thus far. What was it with women afraid of telling their men that they were going to have their child. That would be the best news in the world for any man. Most men. Well, most sane men. Barring any complications, this was great news for Steve. Danny was already catching on to the happy. He caught himself already planning Steve's and Cath's wedding, and the child Christening and all. This was going to be one interesting family. He could bet the children would be recruited into the CIA Junior League before they could go to kindergarten.

"Alright, you want me to talk to him or what? I think it would be better if you talked to him first and I'll help smooth things over. Don't worry, he would be thrilled to hear this. And thanks for not keeping this from him. It's going to be ok." Danny reassured, drawing her into his arms for a hug.

"Thanks Danny." She said in gratitude, a bit calmer now. She felt she had an ally.

"Anytime. And congratulations Cath." Danny said with a smile and Cath finally felt like she had done the right thing. She felt the wonder of what she was carrying. She smiled back with tears in her eyes.

"Wow." Danny said again in wonder shaking his head. "Steve's going to be a daddy. This world is finally coming to an end." He joked, and Cath laughed at that. It was going to be ok.

...

He should hate Cath, at least on Steve's behalf. He tried but, he couldn't. He had plenty of questions. Like why the hell she up and left just after he had begged her to stay for Steve's sake. And now she was pregnant? What the heck! But he was glad, despite it all. Steve was going to be a dad. And if he was being honest he could not see Steve settling down with anyone else but Cath. Maybe because he got so used to Cath and had settled it in his mind that she was the one for him. Maybe because as far as he could see, she was the one. He liked Lynn, he really did. She was after all Melisa's friend. Melisa he was no longer seeing because like Steve, she wasn't Rachel to him. She could never be. And he was sure Steve felt the same about Lynn. She could never be Cath. It seemed the women they were doomed to love were the ones who could do the uttermost damage to their poor manly hearts. That didn't mean Steve was not going to be thrown, even a little pissed at first when he hears the news. Cath had ripped his heart to pieces too many times. He was there when he had sworn off Cath. He had told him he was ready to move forward and had set his mind on never thinking of her again. When he had seemed to throw himself into his relationship with Lynn. But she could never be Cath. Danny had seen that sudden change in him right around the time he came back from rescuing mother dear with his ex- girlfriend/would have been fiancé. He had told him that he and Cath were over with a final note in his voice, and he didn't want to talk about it. It had then been 'classified'. Well, look at them classified now coming back to bite him. Danny had approved that his best friend was moving on. About time. He was no longer hung up on Cath. So, that was what? Closure, breaking ties, never see you again sex with Cath? Only it wasn't, because it had come back to bite him. Maybe it was meant to be. And he could not wish for the best for anyone else than Steve. Steve was the most generous, most deserving of the best, person he knew. And he was glad that he was going to finally get that. If he decides with his heart. Steve could be stubborn, he had closed the lid on Cath. Would he go back on his word. Well, now there was a baby involved now. Maybe that would force him to be with the woman he truly loved. Catherine was Steve's other half, his true love. Sorry Lynn, Danny murmured as he knocked on Steve's door. He had to knock knowing Lynn was there and just as he had guessed, she was the one who opened the door.

...

 **Let me know what you think. See you in a bit.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Fear ain't faith-Chp 2**

 **Hey guys. Sorry it's been a while. I promise you though, next chapter will be up tomorrow. I think. In the meantime. Here's another one. Hope you like and review.**

...

Steve poured the champagne as he waited for Lynn to join him on the dinner table from the kitchen. She had cooked for him tonight. Which was a nice surprise considering the tiresome day he had at work today. They were getting to a point where they could call themselves a couple. He was getting used to her, getting used to the idea of _them_. It had taken a while, but he was getting there. She kind of grew on him, much like Eddy.

His doorbell rang, and he frowned. What now? Who could it be? He was about to go and get it when Lynn walked from the kitchen and proceeded to answer the door.

He looked to see who it was.

Danny.

Of course.

This felt like de'ja'Vu somehow. Like when he gate-crashed his Halloween with Catherine because Grace had ditched him. Or the time when Catherine had crashed on him and Lynn.

He waited as Danny greeted Lynn at the door before walking in.

"Wow, Danny, so you do know how to knock." Steve mocked

"Only to please the ladies. I knew Lynn was here. Didn't want to walk in on any Neanderthal activities." Danny said.

Steve smirked. "So, what is it this time? Did Grace ditch you again for someone cooler. Or was it Charlie this time? He's getting wiser."

Danny just continued to stare at him.

"What? No come back?"

"I'm so going to have a good laugh on you Steve, because you're gonna have your own one day." He said, then murmured under his breath. "One day very soon."

"What was that Danno? You mumble. I am always telling you to quit that."

Danny ignored him and walked further into the room. "Ah, I see you were having some romantic dinner here." He said mockingly, as he took in the scene, swinging around with his hands raised, doing a wave. "Candle light, no less. Very nice." He looked at Steve with approval. "Not bad for a Neanderthal" He teased, and Steve had no come back. He just smirked.

Steve was happy, Danny could see that. And he hated to drop this bomb on him.

"Now as you can see, Daniel, in a setting like this, three is a crowd." Steve said meaningfully at him.

"Oh, come on Steve. Don't mind him Danny. You can join us for dinner if you want." Lynn said hospitably.

"You're such an angel Lynn. I don't know how you put up with his stinginess." Danny said gratefully to Lynn, ignoring Steve's aneurism face.

"No. Oh, no no no." Steve said taking Danny's arm, pulling him aside. "Daniel, now is not the time." He hissed sternly.

"Look, I need you to come with me somewhere, alright? Like right now. I wouldn't call if it wasn't important." Danny said with a serious look on his face now.

Steve frowned in concern. Well, if it was important, if Danny was in trouble or something, he would drop everything and anything, he knew that. "Are you ok?"

"Guys, is everything ok?" Lynn asked.

"Uh…Lynn, sorry but I need to steal your boyfriend here for a bit. I'm sorry to gate-crash like this, but its important." Danny said apologetically to Lynn. He really felt bad about this, especially to Lynn.

"That's ok. You don't want to eat first?" She asked

"No, if it's urgent…" Steve started.

"You can eat. Trust me, you're gonna need to eat first." Danny said in emphasis and Steve was now very concerned.

"You're gonna tell me what's going on?" He asked.

"After you get something into your stomach. Don't worry, everything is good. Just eat like you normally do. Like an animal and with haste. Please." Danny said.

"Are you sure…? Steve asked again hesitantly.

"I am sure. Eat. It's not something that you would need to go all Rambo on." Danny said reassuringly as he could see that Steve was already on amber alert.

To say dinner was an awkward affair was a major understatement. Danny kept thinking of how he was about to break up this new couple with the news he'd brought. He felt bad for doing this to Lynn, he felt like a Judas. He was sitting at the same table with Lynn and couldn't tell her what was about to happen. Steve kept throwing him these little questioning glances which he managed to ignore. He kept thinking about Catherine waiting at that house, or maybe she was no longer waiting. Maybe she had thought better of it and turned tail and run. He was absent minded and unease at that table, to say the least.

"Ok, so what's going on that you had to gate crash my dinner? And you were acting weird the whole time. What did you do?" Steve asked as soon as he got settled behind Danny's Camaro's driver's seat. He started the engine and pulled out his driveway. Danny didn't bother about complaining about the driving thing anymore. As soon as they were out of the house he had automatically handed Steve the keys. He didn't even wait for him to ask.

Danny snorted. "Really? What did _I_ do?" He shook his head.

"Where are we going?" Steve asked

"Check the last address on the GPS." Danny said dismissively.

"So, this is the time you tell me what's going on Danny?"

"Oh, I think you're the one with some explaining to do. What did I teach you about sharing Steve? How information, important information is supposed to be disseminated smoothly between us. So that the other does not get smacked in the face with surprises Steven?"

"What the hell are you talking about? I tell you everything, and if I don't tell you, you pry it out of me. So, what are you saying?" Steve was defensive now.

"Never mind. Now, let me give you a few helpful pointers on something you're very new at Steven. Pregnant women." Danny said.

"Excuse me. What?" Steve asked, puzzled.

"Now, this is very important Steve. Hypertension." Danny continued as if Steve hadn't said anything. He scooted in his seat a bit to turn and look at Steve. "That is, high blood pressure Steven. It's your number one enemy when it comes to pregnant women."

"What the hell are you talking about…?"

"So, that means no raised voices, no yelling of any kind. In fact, no arguments. What she says goes. You know why?" He didn't wait for Steve to answer. "Because of a little thing called Eclampsia."

Steve made a face. "What, is that like one of the many little bacteria found in your great Italian grandfather's Restaurants that got it a bad review and made it flop?"

"Oh, you laugh at me now buddy but, one of these minutes very soon I am gonna have the last laugh. And you're gonna wish you'd listened to me."

"How would I know, Daniel, if you're being so cagey and evasive about what's going on here? What pregnant woman…?"

"Eclampsia, as I was saying, is a condition found in pregnant women. It's caused by hypertension. Which is caused by stress Steven. Therefore, pregnant women do not need to be agitated. I mean, God only knows they have plenty of their own unstable blood pressure issues already. They do not need any added complications."

"Of course, you will know this because you're a doctor, right?" Steve joked.

"I would know this because I'm a father of two. Believe me I'm experienced."

"Alright then Danno. Say there is a point to this medical lesson, what does it do? This encla…cl…"

"Eclampsia. Well, you run the risk of having your wife seize during labour because of high blood pressure. I mean, countless things can happen when that occurs. Your wife could die in labour, your child may even come out deformed. You'd have a deformed baby. Well, in your case it would be a matter of genetics."

Steve just gave him the eye. "So, the Doctors told you this?"

"I researched. Plus, Rachel told me. She was in her 1st trimester with Grace. We were arguing." He said sheepishly.

"Ah, I see. Way to get you to shut up. Are you sure it doesn't affect height too? Cause I think I now know the cause for your height defect buddy."

"Steven, I swear to God, I'm gonna have the last laugh here."

Steve just smirked at him good naturedly. "We're here." Steve said, pulling up at the address. He leaned back on his seat and sighed, staring at the house with a mixture of dread and confusion.

"So, you gonna tell me now? What I'm gonna find when we walk in there?"

"Not _we_ buddy. You. And no, I'm not gonna tell you. Just know that you my friend are in for a big surprise and I'm enjoying the look on your face right now." Danny said with a smug smile. "I don't hate doing this to you buddy." He added.

"So, you're gonna let me walk into a trap. Alone. Some friend you are."

"That's for keeping things from me." Danny said sulked.

"Really? Daniel? You're gonna let me walk into a trap?"

Danny just shrugged, and Steve turned to walk into the house. It wasn't like he didn't have a clue to what was going on here. Danny had hinted so much about a pregnant woman. Of course, there was a pregnant woman involved. And if it had to do with him then it was obviously Mary. His sister. She had got herself knocked up and didn't have the courage to face him so she had called Danny. Really, Mary was a mother already now. There was absolutely no need for her to be so apprehensive and absolutely no reason for him to lose his marbles. He walked in there with confidence.

And literally froze when he set eyes on the beautiful very pregnant brunet waiting for him in the room. And no, it wasn't Mary.

...

 **Let me know what you think. See you in a bit.**

….


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Hey guys, Here's another one.**

...

Steve, after hearing the news, had been in a fog the whole day. He was scared and elated at the same time. And more than anything, he was confused. How?

He remembered just yesterday, as he had entered that house to see, not Mary but Catherine, standing there looking very pregnant. His heart had stopped beating. Just because he was over Cath didn't mean he would not be bothered by her looking so beautiful, pregnant with another man's baby. That had rendered him useless. Just the thought of it, and now seeing it. This had always been his fantasy, not that he had ever admitted it. But the fact that Catherine was the only woman he had been willing to propose marriage to should speak volumes. Now he just stood there, staring at her. Not knowing what to say but knowing a certain pain in his heart, knowing that he and Cath were never going to go back.

 _"Steve." She had said in that breathy soft voice and made it even harder for him to breathe._

 _"Wow, Cath." He said trying to ignore the lump which had now suddenly appeared in his throat. Cath could read him like a book._

 _"It's yours Steve. I'm carrying your baby." She said, having seen the pain on his face and wanting to reassure him and to just quickly get it over with before she lost her nerve to tell him._

 _He just stared at her. Clearly, he wasn't comprehending._

 _"Steve, I wanted to tell you…"_

 _"Hold up, just a minute Catherine. What do you mean mine?"_

 _"I…" She held up her hands together as If in prayer, one of her many mannerism especially when she was finding it hard to explain something. And yeah, this was going to be hard to explain. "Remember Morocco?" She said in explanation._

 _"What, are you saying this is as a result from Morocco? Catherine that was…"_

 _"Six months and two weeks ago, I know." Then she looked at her stomach meaningfully._

 _He remembered. Oh yeah, he remembered. In fact, he never forgot. And not for lack of trying._

 _At one time he was still so mad at Cath for leaving him, then showing up at his house unannounced to crash on his date and take him away to go help his mother rescue Wo fat's father. There was so much wrong with that scenario. He had major issued with the whole thing. He had been pissed because he could not refuse one of the three women he loved most in his life. But they all seem to want to leave him so readily, so easily. Only to come back when they needed something from him. His mother, his sister who now lived miles away from him and of course Catherine. Always leaving. He couldn't do anything about the other two, he had been born to love them, but he could sure do something about Cath. He could cut ties with her and never see her again. That was the plan. Then she showed up, whisked him to Morocco and risked her own life helping him rescue his mother. And he got so very confused._

 _So, it happened. In that empty house in Morocco before the team had come in to render their assistance to the cause. If only they had come one day earlier, and this would not have happened._

 _One minute they were going through the details of the Op, the layout of the building, and the next they were arguing. He rarely ever fought with Cath but this time around his emotions were a mess. So, he had yelled, and she had yelled back and the next thing they were against the wall. It was not supposed to happen but the women in his life were playing with his emotions way too much and he had had enough. He gave in to the last minute, mad passion, swearing afterwards that he would never see her again. And after the rescue he had asked her if she was happy doing what she was doing. Leaving him for the job because again, he was not ready to let her go. He had thought he was ready._

 _"Just answer me one question Cath. Are you happy? Doing what you're doing?" He had asked that from a very broken place in his heart, with mock disappointment though._

 _And she had looked him in the eye and answered 'yes'. Even after the moment of passion they had just shared in that cabin, even after everything. She still chose her job over him. Then she had gone on to recommend Lynn to him, saying that she was the right girl for hm. Really? Like he couldn't choose for himself?_

 _He had watched her board the plane with his mother. The two women he loved willingly leaving him behind. CIA agents. For the job. Again._

 _So, he had come back, and swore that he would be dammed if he didn't make it work with Lynn. And he had. Lynn was the exact opposite of Cath. And he loved that about her._

 _Now what was this? What was Catherine trying to pull here? Why, after all this time did she not tell him? She was six months pregnant for crying out loud! Plus, how did she get pregnant?_

 _"Catherine you always used birth control. What…,I don't understand." He was beyond shaken._

 _"I know. It's just this time I didn't."_

 _"How? Catherine, tell me how? Because…,You always used birth control with me Cath. Always and just one would last for months. How…"_

 _"Because you were not there Steve. I just…I had just broken up with you and there was no reason for me to be on birth control, at least that's what I thought. What happened was a mistake, a moment of weakness. It wasn't supposed to happen, but it did."_

 _"Catherine…"_

 _"It takes two Steven. And this is your baby that I'm carrying. Alright, I didn't mean to wreck your little bubble but here I am. I just wanted you to know that you're going to be a father." She was yelling now, and Steve could see that she was getting agitated._

 _"And now you tell me? Catherine its been six months, what the hell were you thinking all this time?" he could not help it, but he was yelling back. He was so in shock he felt like someone was suffocating him. He realized it for what it was. Panic. God, he was going to be a father!_

 _"I tried…I tried to call you…"_

 _"When Catherine? When the hell did you try to call me to tell me that you were pregnant with my child? Cause I sure didn't see any calls from you." He wanted answers and wanted them now. He tried to calm himself down seeing that Cath was about to cry._

 _Eclampsia, eclampsia eclampsia, he chanted in his head, reminding himself why he was supposed to keep calm. Eclampsia. But he was so mad, and confused and scared, afraid to be happy. What if it wasn't his?_

 _He calmed himself down and took her in his arms to calm her down too as she was already crying. Danny had said this was another one of the side effects. Catherine was not an easy crier._

 _"Its gonna be ok, its gonna be ok." He shushed her. At the same moment he was wondering what he was going to do now. Lynn was waiting for him at home right now. Anxious to know how the case that Danny had pulled him from dinner to go to had gone. What the hell was he supposed to do now?_

Now he walked on, backpack slung on his back, his mind in chaos. He could not take in the beauty of the green jungle and the mountain he was going to hike looming in his peripheral vision as he got closer. Cath was not like that, but he really didn't know anything about her anymore. She had been MIA for so long he really could not just..., And Lynn, what about Lynn? He was going to have to tell her. And Cath, was she going to stay this time? Did she want to get married? These were question's plaguing his mind; he needed a moment. A hike, more like. To clear his head. Danny seemed to be on top of the world about the news. He would have expected Danny to be posing these questions to him but no, he was all believing. Danny was a natural cynic and when it came to paternity issues he had had first-hand experience with his ex wife lying to him about Charley. Of course, he was over that now, since it all eventually worked in his favor but still. Shouldn't he be a little...

Steve fumed as he climbed the mountain, his mind miles away. He didn't care if he was being a bad companion at that moment. He had a lot to process and he had needed this hike. If Danny insisted on coming along, well then, so be it. He should expect that Steve would not be in the right kind of mindset to be companionable right now. He should know that.

...

Danny looked at Steve as he hiked up the mountain in front of him and made a face. This was punishment. Why do people, Neanderthals, solve their problems by hiking up mountains anyway? He was complaining inside but knew better than to voice his grievances. After all, he was the one who had insisted on coming along and he had the suspicion that Steve had chosen this mountain in particular to teach him a lesson. This was not his usual 'brooding after my father's death' mountain. This was a whole different thing. This was a 'butt out of my business, Catherine may be lying to me, my mother faked her own death' kind of mountain. He kept up, or he would never hear the end of it. They reached the peak of the mountain and he bent over to take a breath. Finally, they were here. Now, maybe they could move on to the talking. He'd give it a minute though, he had to catch his breath. Danny sat on the ground and huffed. All of this for what? Just so he could get Steve to talk. Well, he better talk before this whole adventure is over. He took a bottle of water out of his back pack and started drinking. He looked down the cliff and yeah, it was a long way down. Into water. There was a waterfall on the other side if the mountain and a big river beneath. That water looked powerful, it could sweep you all the way to North Korea. But it made a good view. It was nice to look at. God's grand creation.

They set up their tent in silence, mostly because Steve was still imagining himself alone on that mountain. With his own thoughts.

"You know…, and she didn't even call me once all this time and now she just...just come up with a baby?" Steve said from nowhere, all of a sudden. He was venting.

"Well, it's not like it's coming from nowhere Steve, you can account for the time of conception and ..."

"Yeah, and isn't that just convenient?"

"What? Come on, you don't really think Cath would..."

"I wouldn't put it past her Danny. Why now?"

"Well, maybe because she is accidentally pregnant Steven."

"Exactly."

"And it's your baby."

"And you know that how?"

"Because you freakin' told me and she told me too. Look, she wouldn't lie to you about this."

Steve snorted, "You're one to talk."

"Ok, don't let's go there..."

"Why not? You seem too happy to go there with this."

"Look, you wouldn't seriously think that Cath would..."

"That is why I wanted to come and think. Alone."

"Fine, you want to throw yourself off a cliff? Because you could be a father?"

"Could', being the operative word here."

"Why won't you just be happy about this Steve? I would have thought..."

"Look, i am scared ok? There. Is that what you wanted to hear? I am scared shitless and i can't even think. What if she...you know she is not even staying. She's gonna..."

"What? Rip your heart out again? Steve, i can't believe i am being the voice of reason here but you deserve some happiness. Take it. You're gonna be a dad. Huh? You, my Neanderthal of a best friend are finally going to be a dad." Danny said with animated awe. To distract him from the dark thoughts. Making Steve look at it that way. It was quite a wonder. He was going to be a dad.

"My friend, you're going to be a dad." Danny said again in exuberance, slapping him on the shoulder. "This may have been an accident but i am damn proud of you buddy. Huh? You couldn't get the girl you love to stay so you decided to knock her up instead. Nice move." Danny chided, and Steve smiled. For the first time he felt like he could laugh.

He smirked at Danny, "Well, I took a leaf out of your page buddy. Isn't that what you did to Rachel?"

"Touché." Danny said, laughing. "But seriously dude, you're gonna be a dad. A dad." Danny said in absolute wonder and Steve could not help but put his fears aside and be happy about that fact. A dad. He a dad. My, he wished his father was there. He would have loved to be a grand dad.

They spent their time being normal again. Steve would be caught brooding occasionally and Danny would just tactically remind him that he was gonna be a dad. That seemed to take away that haunted look for a while.

...

By the time they were preparing to head back home, all had been sorted. At least on the surface. Steve was still scared alright, but now he had made some decisions. He'd talk to Catherine because God only knew he still loved her. He would bravely try to convince her to stay at least so that he could see his baby being born. Work out some kind of arrangement or something. He would also talk to Lynn. That conversation was not going to go well, that much he knew. It would also be prudent to have a DNA test done, discreetly of course. He would not have Cath think that he didn't trust her, but he had had too much experience with deception in his life and with those around him. Just so his mind would be at rest, so he wouldn't have to find out years later, after loving that kid so much, that it wasn't his. He would wisely avoid that.

They were happily packing away their gear when suddenly he heard a low growl. He held his hand up to stop Danny from his chatter. He listened again but he really didn't need to. From the bushes came a large mean looking Jaguar. Danny had already stopped talking, in fact he was very still. They both were.

The jaguar stealthily approached and behind it there was another one.

"Steve?" Danny said lowly.

"I know." Steve replied, wondering how to tackle this new problem. If it was one, he could have handled it, but two?

"Stay very still Danny."

"Do you freakin' see me moving Steven?" Danny said in an undertone.

"Ok, here's what were gonna do. You take one, i take the other." Steve said. Wondering how he was going to retrieve his weapon without alarming the two jaguars into attacking.

"I don't think we would be fast enough Steve. These things, oh thou lover of cats, are lethal ninja killing machines. Your words. And right now, we're lunch."

"Then what do you suggest Daniel?" Steve huffed. Danny was right, they didn't have a chance. "Ok, so here's what we're going to do. I'll run and distract both. They both go after the prey that's running. You take that chance and shoot them Danno."

"That is the most...Steve, of all your ideas babe, that's the dumbest craziest thing I've ever heard." Danny ranted, wanting to wave his hands around in emphasis but knowing that he would be jaguar lunch within seconds. "That is suicidal Steve."

"Anymore suicidal than waiting for them to come eat us up? Any more suicidal than right now Daniel?" Steve said, exasperated.

Danny rolled his eyes but yeah, Steve did have a point.

"Alright, on my count." Steve said as he gave Danny a sideways glance. They were now both sweating with fear.

"Now." Steve whispered and started to run.

Damn Steve, he didn't even count. Danny took out his gun, but those things were fast. And clever. If Steve wasn't wrestling with one he would have been bragging about his cat family ninjas, because they didn't both run after Steve. No, they had targets and Danny had already been sported. He felt himself knocked down and the jaguar had it's teeth deep in his arm. Danny managed to pull his weapon and fire and the thing went limb on him. He wrestled it off him then looked over at Steve. He was on the ground having been knocked down and the animal had its teeth in his side as he wrestled it. He moved and went over the cliff to try and avoid the deadly thing, at least it wouldn't follow him over. Danny aimed and took a shot and the jaguar went down.

Danny ran over to Steve who was now hanging over the edge with only one hand. The rest of him bloody and dangling over that mountain cliff with the river beneath him.

"Steve!" Danny yelled, seeing Steve lose more of his grip on the stone he was holding. He dived the rest of the way to catch his arm. His fingers were already loosening off the stone. A second more and Steve would have been in the water by now. Danny cringed from pain as he realised that his injured arm was the one he was using to hold on to Steve and he didn't have much grip as he was pulled along. His feet found a stone or something and he used that as an anchor.

"Danny."

"Steve. Hey, are you ok?"

"Danny." Steve said again, he had lost a lot of blood in that short amount of time.

"Pull at me Steve. Grab my hand and pull up. I got you."

"If i pull you'll come down with me Danny. Gravity it's called." Steve said with a lopsided smile.

"Then I'll come down with you. Come on, just try huh? Come on." Danny said, trying to pull but his arm and the futility of it all had him cringing even more in pain. God, it burned.

"Let me go Danny. You gotta let go or you're gonna come down with me. You're hurt and bleeding all over me. Let me go."

"Shut up Steven. I'm not letting you go."

"You got no choice buddy. You can't hold on much longer."

"Yes, i can, Yes i can." Danny gritted his teeth. His arm was burning but he would not, could not let go.

"Listen to me. I'm hurt and I'm bleeding. There not much i can or you can do Danny. Just..."

"Just what Steven?" No way was he going to lose him like that. No way. He held on. "I want you to fight Steve. Pull my hand damn you!"

"If i do that you'll fall with me Danny, don't you get it?"

"Then I'll fall with you. Alright Steven, i am not letting you go, you hear me? You're going to be a father. You hear? Fight for that. Fight for Catherine Steve, for your baby. Fight."

Steve looked at him with tearful eyes. He pulled, and Danny started moving forward, the stone he had used as leverage not being helpful anymore. Steve noticed that and stopped. "It's not working."

"Yes, it is working. Yes, it is. Steve pull, come on." Danny pleaded.

They looked at each other desperately, the situation had become undeniably hopeless.

"Pull Steve." Danny said tearfully as he looked into Steve's eyes and saw what was there. What he was about to do.

"Take care of them for me Danno."

"No."

"I may make it out."

"No, Steve don't do this. Even if you do make it, how will you swim with your flesh torn up like that?"

"I can't hold on any longer Danny. I just can't." As he hung on that cliff, his whole side bleeding, his arm burning with pain, he knew he might not make it. And clarity at that moment dawned on him. He would give anything to be a father with Catherine right now. It had always been what he had wanted. The doubts were gone. He knew what he wanted. But it might be too late.

"Just one more time. Pull Steve. Please."

"Tell them i love them."

"Steven!"

"I love you brother." Steve said and let go of Danny's hand. Danny tried but felt his own grip slipping. Steve let go.

"No no no no. Steve!" Danny yelled desperately. He was the one now griping on to Steve's hand alone with his painful bleeding arm. The blood flowing from his arm acting as a lubricant, making the grip useless because it was slipping, fast.

"Steve don't. Come on, please don't do this."

Steve's hand slipped, and Danny watched him fall.

"Noooooo!"

...

 **See you in a bit.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **Hey guys. Here's another**

 **...**

No way was this going to end like this. Steve was his brother and no way was he going to just let him die like that. He wasn't about to lose about another brother. Not on his watch. Danny grabbed his backpack with his medical supplies in it and secured it on his back before jumping feet first into the river. He hoped that Steve would not be washed away too far, prayed that he would find him. He was a good swimmer, not that he liked to parade it, but this time he knew that he had no chance with the waterfall. The water hit him so hard and he went under. His head hit something hard and he blacked out for a minute. The waterfall pulling him further away. He didn't know how long or how far he was dragged by the water when he was out, but he came to, finding himself at the bank.

Taking in bouts of air. He choked and coughed out. He looked around for Steve, but he wasn't there.

"Steve!" He yelled as he frantically looked around. Steve!" He called out.

No answer.

His head hurt like nothing he had ever felt before. It was a sharp stabbing pain at the back and he thought he blacked out again for a minute. Still he got up, ignored the pain and staggered around. "Steve!" That was meant to be a yell, but it came back a whisper as his head took over again, bending him over with the pain. He shook it out. Steve. He had to find Steve. He could see that Steve had not been deposited at the same bank as he. Maybe he had been taken further down by the water or, God forbid, he drowned. He would have to get back into that water. God help him, but he had to find Steve, forget the mind-numbing pain which was his head right now. The bleeding arm had been forgotten compared to the headache. So, if he could put aside his pounding headache, he could sure use both his arms to swim. Without thinking much about it, he dove back into the water, backpack still on his back. It may have been what had weighed him down to render him useless against the powerful water, but it couldn't be helped. He needed it, for when he found Steve. Alive. Because he had to be alive.

The water was a bit stable this further down the river, so he swam and yelled and swam until he washed off to another side of the bank. If Steve had not been washed off to his first bank, then he was definitely on this one. That was of course, if he hadn't drowned.

He walked onto the bank and looked around, again searching and yelling. He was now thinking of going back into the water when he saw a figure washed out somewhere in the bushes, well hidden if not for something that looked like a hiking boot sticking out.

He approached, not ready to get his hopes up but yeah, he was hoping. And he was also hoping that that figure was breathing.

"Steve?" He approached and yes, it was him, thank God. And he was alive because as he said his name he moaned. Dude was in terrible shape but thank God, he was alive and conscious. It was nothing short of a miracle really, because to be honest, Danny was only counting on Steve's die-hard ninja persona, and his own frantic prayers to come out of this alive. Steve had been bleeding bad when he had fallen into that river, to find him alive was a miracle. It really was. He murmured a small thank you upward and breathed. He breathed for the first time since the whole incident. Because breathing was not only taking in air. Breathing was when the hand clenching your heart loses its grip. Breathing was a release of not just the breath. He was finally free to think, and free to feel pain as his head started pounding again. Or had the pain never left?

"Steve!" he knelt beside him, turning him so he could get a good look. "Jez man you scared the shit out of me." Danny said in relief. Steve just opened his eyes to look at him, and that might have been a smile, Danny wasn't sure. The guy looked bad. The water would have washed most of the blood away, but fresh blood was till coming out, staining his shirt red again. Danny set to work, sitting down besides Steve, taking out the medical kit from his back pack.

"God, you're a mess." Danny said

"Danno." Steve said weakly. "How did you find me?"

"Well it wasn't easy that's for sure." Danny said, "Steve if you're so scared to become a father just say so bro. Cause this is just ridiculous. Now, you are not allowed to die on me Steve. After all the hell I just went through to get to you, do you hear me?"

"Danny stop yelling. You're giving me a head ache."

"Please don't say headache." Danny said, grimacing. "Did you hurt your head too? Steve let me…"

"No. Head is good. Just your chatter making me dizzy. Blood lose could cause that too." Steve said, trying to get up.

"No no no, just stay still. Let me look at that butchered side of yours." Danny said, proceeding to reveal the wound on Steve's side. "Dear Jesus, man this is why I am a dog person." He said grimacing as he got a good look at the torn-up flesh.

"Yeah well, they are just territorial kings and queens Danny. Can't fault them for defending their territory." Steve said, groaning in pain as a bandage was applied to his wound.

"Honestly, you can't seriously be defending cats to me right now. Not after what they just did. Look at you, they literary tore you apart. If I was ever on the fence with your cat family, now I'm sure. Sign me out, I'm a dog person forever."

"Face it Danny, the ninjas are super-fast, smart and just down right ninja man. Did you see what they just did right there? I mean, yeah, I'm bleeding but, respect man. Respect." Steve said with such awe in his voice Danny could only laugh. The guy was bleeding from being torn up by the animals and he has never been more in awe of them. He just shook his head and continued tending the wound. His head ache now just came and went, and the black outs were more a constant. He was kind of in a haze now, but he could still cope and could still remember to keep it normal.

"Yeah well, I'll stick to my dogs' thanks very much. They don't attack you for no treason, for one. You can negotiate with them."

"Oh yeah? You're forgetting part of your dog family Danny. The wild ones." Steve said with a meaningful raised eye brow. "Wild dogs eat you alive man. While you walk they would be chewing on your flesh. Please don't tell me you can negotiate with barbarian, scavengers like those. Now cats, all cats are respectful man. They go for the jugular; for the kill before they eat. They have a sense of pride."

"Well thank God they didn't go for the jugular this time or we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. And about the wild ones, every family had got the mentally unstable Steve. You of all people should know that. You being one in your family." Danny said dismissively, trying to clear the haze in his eyes so he could see clearly what he was doing.

"Yeah well, Steve started with his comeback but paused mid-sentence. Danny looked up at him questioningly.

"Is your head bleeding?" Steve asked with a concerned frown on his face.

"What? No." Danny said readily, touching his head in confusion. He brought his hand back covered with blood. "It's nothing Steve…"

"Seriously, let me see…"

"I'm fine. Besides, you can't even move, your ribs are all cracked up. God only know what else is damaged on you. I'm done patching you up, at least for the mean time while we wait for your wonderful cats to come find us again. I'm just hoping this time we'll be dinner. At least that gives us time to recuperate enough to talk about what would have-beens." Danny said, leaning against the rock, resting the side of his head tiredly on the rock. No, he wasn't ok, but If at all there was going to be any rescue, of which he was completely doubtful, then he wanted Steve to have a chance and making him worry right now would not increase his chances. The guy had bled out too much, trying to keep him talking and awake was number one priority. Just in case the impossible happened and they got rescued. By some miracle of course. The phone was obviously no longer working since it also took a swim. He tried punching some buttons, but nothing was happening. He gave up. Well, like he was always teaching his children, miracles are real. So, he'll try and stay positive.

"Seriously Daniel, if there is an opposite of a motivational speaker? You're it." Steve said drowsily.

"Hey, don't sleep on me buddy. Stay awake. I promise to try and be positive. So, tell me what you are going to say to Lynn." Danny asked, applying pressure on the bleeding wound on his head, just above his hair line. It wasn't a big a deal, it probably was just a graze. Not like the one at the back of his head which he could now deduce had swollen to a golf ball size. But it was invisible so, he'll keep quiet about it.

"I don't know man. I guess I'm just gonna come out and say it. I have to tell her the truth you know. I don't know man, I don't think it's as easy as you would think it will be. Yeah, I love Cath, I've always loved Cath but Lynn…I love her too you know. I …I don't know." Steve said in despair.

"Well, let's just concentrate the baby for now. You'll make your decision about your women when you see them. Just one thing I'll dare say about this, you can't run away from your heart."

"Wow, is that positivity I hear right now? You were not kidding about making an improvement there Danno. Wow, and all for me?" Steve jested.

" I can't guarantee it will stay like that for long, this situation we're in keeps getting better doesn't it?"

"But really Danny, your head. Are you sure…?"

"I am sure, don't worry about me. Yeah, I hit my head a bit, its bleeding and I'm sure I'll get a hero concussion out of it at best. Now tell me about Rambolittle or Rambolittlelete? Have you thought of some names yet?"

"Certainly not Rambolittle or rambolittlete." Steve mumbled.

…..

Catherine walked into HQ determined to talk to Steve and put an end to this hide and seek. He was supposed to be back by now from his hike and she was ready to talk this through.

"Whoa…. Catherine?" Lou said as she walked into the computer room.

"Hi Lou." She said. She should be getting used to these shocked stares by now, but she wasn't.

"You're pregnant." He said as if he had worked out a puzzle.

"That would be the word." Cath said

"Steve know?" Lou asked.

"Yes, he does." She replied knowing what was coming next.

"Ha! Now I know why the guy so wanted to go for a hike as if it was kind of an emergency. Probably wanted to go throw himself off a cliff." Lou said.

"Oh no. I know what you're thinking, but it's his. It's Steve's." she clarified.

"Yeah. And he just found out about it when?"

"Uh…two days ago."

"Yeah, he'd still want to throw himself off a cliff. I know I would. No wonder Mr 'anti out door' Danny Williams insisted on tagging along. Usually it's the other way around. I'm pretty sure he feared the same." Lou said lazily.

"Are they back yet?" She asked.

"Not yet, but they are supposed to be back this afternoon." Lou reassured. "Come on in Cath, let me introduce you to the newest addition of our team. Meet Tani Ray and Junior."

They shook hands, introductions going around.

"And I'm sure you know Jerry Otager." Lou said

"Yeah, hi Jerry."

"Catherine." Jerry said with a little hand wave.

Tani followed Junior away for a short side bar. "So, who is that again?"

"Apparently Steve's ex. I've heard about her. Though the Commander never really talks about her." Junior said, also looking confused at the pregnant woman talking to Lou and Jerry. "She's pretty."

"Yeah, and pregnant. For Steve."

"I know right? The boss is in trouble."

"I can't wait to see this. Personally, I am with Lynn. I mean, she's the one I know." Junior said.

At that moment Jerry got off the phone with HPD and called out to Lou. "Captain Grover. I just got a call from HPD here. They said rangers reported shots fired from direction of the Honolulu Mountains in the East."

"That's where Steve and Danny went." Tani said, moving towards the others.

"Alright, alright calm down everybody. We don't know that that's them. There are plenty of tourists hiking in that area." Lou reassured. "Now Jerry, get Med Evac, we're gonna have to go check this out. How long ago did this happen?"

"They said twenty minutes ago."

"I'm coming with you." Cath said anxiously

"No can do Cath. I don't wanna have to explain to McGarret if something were to happen to you and his baby here. You're pregnant, stay put and we'll bring them home. Ok?"

"Ok." She agreed, seeing reason. Hating how she felt so helpless doing nothing.

...

 **See you in a bit.**

…..


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter - 5**

 **Hey guys, here's another one. Enjoy.**

 **And thanks for the reviews. appreciate them. Keep them coming.**

 **...**

 **When life comes rushing at you out of the darkness who will you choose to face it with? Will it be someone you trust? Will they be wise? And will their love for you help them to guide you to the light, or will they lose their way in the darkness? Will they make noble choices? Or will that person be untested, someone new? Life comes rushing at you from out of the darkness. When it does, is there someone in your life you can count on – someone who will watch over you when you stumble and fall, and in that moment, give you the strength to face your fears alone? - **Lucas quote.****

 ** **...****

Lou didn't feel like hiking up that mountain, he really wasn't the hiking type. So, he hitched a flight with the med evac crew while the younger bloods took the mountain like pros. But he got there first. He would have smirked in triumph as he saw them panting with exhaustion had not the situation been so dire. He had taken Eddy at the last minute and now he knew it had been a good idea. Because Steve and Danny were nowhere to be found.

He just looked at Junior and Tani in dismay now, the look on his face confirming their fears. This was their crime scene alright. A horrible one. Being the first on the scene he had had his moment of shock first, now he waited for Junior and Tani to catch their breaths as they too took in the scene.

"Oh God." Tani said in horror.

"I know." Lou said, looking around again at the scene, getting to work. "Yeah, this looks like our scene alright, but where is Steve and Danny?"

There were two big jaguars lying dead, bleeding on the ground from gun shot wounds. It looked like Steve and Danny had gotten out of the clutches of these ones. Not knowing now if these two had been the only ones. If not, then they could not be sure if Steve and Danny managed to get out alive after all.

"Do you think they made it?" Junior asked hopefully.

"I hope so man. I hope so." Lou said. "We have to find them in order to find out, don't we? What do you think happened here?" Lou asked, further studying the scene.

"Looks like they were attacked by the two giant cats. Maybe there were more, no way to tell. But they got away from these two. First this one." Junior said as he tracked the marks on the ground, following the blood trails.

"Yeah, and this is not all Jaguar blood. Our boys took a beating too." Lou supplied.

"Yeah, and it looks like they were about ready to leave too. Gear was all packed, almost everything except for the tents." Tanni said, studying the scene as well.

"Looks like someone went over the cliff." Junior said in dread.

"They both did." Lou said in affirmation. "If one went over then definitely the other followed right after. They are both not the patient type to find a safer way to follow if the other went flying off that cliff." Lou said.

"They certainly wouldn't take the stairs down." Tani said, realizing the same.

"No, they would take a dive." Junior agreed. Neither Danny nor Steve would try to find a safer way down if one of them were to be pushed down that cliff into that dangerous looking water. They would fly right after. He just hoped they made it.

"Ok, lets go. We have to find them. Our best bet would be down that river, but nobody is diving in. It's pointless at this point anyway. They would have been washed off somewhere." Lou said." Junior, you take Eddy here, he'll help lead the way.

"I suppose you'll take the chopper again. Search on the other side?' Junior asked, with hidden deride.

"Well, it's only reasonable." Lou shrugged and rushed to the chopper. "We're looking for two, probably bloody looking males. Fly low." He instructed the pilot and the medical crew as he got into the chopper.

Junior and Tani took to the jungle with Eddy sniffing his way ahead.

…..

He had been getting in and out of consciousness every few minutes it seemed. Truth was, he really didn't know how long he had been out, but he woke in a daze to the feeling of teeth and tongue on his face. Something was sniffing his face, or maybe tasting its dinner. Oh God. Oh God don't let it be that the cats had come for their dinner already. It wasn't yet dinner time. Or was it. Or did they care?

He stiffened and didn't make a sound. He couldn't. Fear gripped him, this time a little stronger; because if the jaguars had come for their dinner, this time they were going to eat. He couldn't move to save his life and he didn't have the energy or the hope like he had the last time. This time he was too tired to fight. He couldn't even think to fight. He didn't even open his eyes, it was too much of a chore. Plus, he would rather not be awake while the jaguars fed on his flesh. He willed himself back to his oblivion. It wasn't so hard.

"Steve! Danny!"

He heard voices, they were coming from far away it seemed and then he felt hands on him, shouting. It was giving him a headache, enough for him to open his eyes. To his amazement, it was Junior shaking him and Eddy, his dog, friendly dog, sniffing and licking his face.

Oh, the relief was mind blowing, he closed his eyes again.

"Danny." He whispered. There was no response, no tired snack comment about how his new positive attitude had turned out right after all, rare as it was. "Hey, your positive attitude paid off after all. Huh? Buddy? It's good to have hope every once in a while, right?" Steve kept talking, expecting an answer, but it didn't come.

He opened his eyes wider. "Danny?" Moving was painful and he had never been so weak, but he moved still, turned his head in Danny's direction. At least where he had last seen him sitting beside him leaning against the rock.

"No, hey. Stay still Commander. Don't move." Junior said on his side. He was the one on his side, a worried expression on his face. There was a paramedic on his side checking his already dressed wounds. Danny had dressed his wounds, had kept him talking none stop so he would not succumb to unconsciousness. Danny had been alright. He had been alright.

Then why wasn't he answering? Where the heck was he?

He must have struggled a bit more because now he was being strapped to a spine board, a collar was applied to his neck but still he managed to turn his head.

Lou and Tani were helping the other paramedic with Danny. Danny was out. He seemed…so…

"What the hell is happening? Junior? How's he?"

Junior just looked at the paramedic for an answer, he seemed hesitant to answer him. That raised all of his alarm bells. He looked again to where they were crowding Danny. The other paramedic was intubating. Oh God. Oh God no.

He struggled.

"Steve stay still damn it! Commander…sorry." Junior said, exasperated and worried. The situation wasn't too great, no.

"Tell. Me. What's. Happening. Junior. Right the hell now!" He demanded of Junior.

The paramedic working on him helped out, "Commander you've lost a lot of blood which we are going to transfuse now. Your wounds were properly dressed so we won't disturb then anymore since they have stopped bleeding and we can only take out the dressing when we get to a controlled environment in case they start bleeding again. You have a…"

"Oh, for God's sake lady, do you really think I am asking 'bout me right now? Tell me what's happening to Daniel. That's all I need to know."

"Alright then, if you insist." The paramedic took a breath before looking at Steve to answer him.

"Oh God, he's not …he's not…"

"No. He's not dead but…"

He waited for the 'but'. He didn't think he was ready to hear it.

"He…uh…he's not looking too good. He suffered a blunt force trauma to the head among other things. But this one is the most crucial one. We suspect at least intracranial haemorrhage. We need to get him out of here as soon as possible. Because we can't do anything about it here. He needs to be in surgery. Both of you, in fact."

"Is he going to be ok?" He asked anxiously.

"We have no way of knowing Sir. Like I said, there isn't much we can go out here. We'll just monitor his vitals and keep him breathing. That's the best we can do."

"Keep him breathing. Please."

"We'll do our best. Now we need to get you both on that chopper and get you to a hospital as soon as possible."

"But he was ok. He said he was ok …he was talking just…" When was the last time he had heard Danny talk? He had passed out he really couldn't tell how much time had passed when he was out of it. "He was awake…he's the one who helped me, dressed my wounds. How…?"

"He must have hit his head when he was attached by the animals." Junior said.

"No," Steve said, "he hit his head jumping off that cliff after me. But he just had a small gush on his forehead. It wasn't even bleeding anymore."

"That wasn't the injury we are concerned about, though it may have caused it's own damage. The one at the back of his skull is the real culprit. He had a huge haematoma. Possible skull fracture but he was still awake when we got here. Even talked to us briefly. Then he started seizing and then he crushed." The paramedic was talking to him while busy working on him. They lifted him up onto a gurney to take him to the chopper first, and he didn't want to leave Danny there alone. Still surrounded by people. Not knowing if he was dead or not.

All because of what? He had wanted to run away from his troubles and now look at what he had done.

Danny was brought in beside him on the chopper. He had tubes all over and more were being connected to him in the chopper. He looked dead. Lord please don't let him be dead.

…

Catherine was pacing now; pretty sure it was not good for the baby. The way she was pacing. But it could also be counted as exercise. Exercise was good for the baby. If only her heart could settle down a little. She was sure her blood pressure had shot up to some new heights. It had been two hours now since Lou and the team went out to look for Steve and Danny. And she didn't know if they found anything. If they were ok or not. The man she loved. The father of her unborn baby and his best friend, more like a brother. A friend to her too. A dear friend. So, excuse her if she was freaking out a little. It had nothing to do with her pregnancy. Maybe she was busy worrying and they were actually on their way back.

Then the call came, at last. And it wasn't good news. Not at all.

She had rushed to Tripler medical and managed to get there before the chopper did. She went to wait at the ER, waiting with the Doctors for the chopper to arrive. She didn't know what to expect. Lou had just said it was bad.

Finally, the chopper landed, and the two patients were wheeled in and her heart nearly stopped. Steve had bandages all over his body, his skin was so pale, he must have lost a lot of blood. He was unconscious. And Danny was the same. Unconscious. No bandages on his body like Steve had but he was unconscious. And he was being ventilated. Dear Lord, did she do this? Should she have not come here? Steve would not have reacted like this if she had come earlier. Oh, maybe not come at all.

She didn't even get the chance to talk to him, because he was out, and because someone else was there. She didn't know when Lynn got there or who had called her, but she was there now. And she had every right to be fussing over Steve and freaking out like she was doing. She was his current girlfriend. His almost live-in girlfriend. And that hurt. Too much.

Lynn kissed Steve on the forehead as he was wheeled away. She didn't even look to see her. Maybe she didn't recognise her or notice her. So, Cath just faded into the background and went to wait in the waiting room.

She set there alone feeling like an outsider, waiting for the team to come and wait with her. They would probably come with Lyn too. And she would feel like the total home wrecker she felt she was. But she loved Steve with all her heart and she wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now.

She sat there alone, wringing her hands, worried out of her mind. Feeling guilty, responsible, left out. Lou walked in ahead of everyone else, went straight to Catherine.

"Sorry Catherine, we had to call Lynn too." He said apologetically. Cath understood, after all Lynn had more right to be here than she. She just had to face up to it. Truth be told though, she had gone through better Navy and CIA situations than this.

Then Lynn walked into the waiting room, she didn't notice her sitting there for a moment. It must the pregnancy, it must have changed her a lot, and for someone who had only met her once, it was understandable.

Catherine stood up to face Lynn and that's when she really looked at her. It was understandable, her mind must have ben miles away, worried for Steve. And now she just visibly blanched when she took a good look at her.

The look of recognition and shock on her face.

Apparently, she didn't know of Catherine's presence in Hawaii, let alone her pregnancy. Yeah, this was not going to be easy.

"Hey, Lynn…right?" Cath started in greeting. Stretching out her hand hesitantly.

Lynn took it, after a moment of hesitation herself. No doubt she was having a lot of question running around in her mind.

"Yeah, uh… Catherine. Right?" She asked right back.

Now what? The awkward silence ensured, and Cath didn't know what to say, or even where to start.

"You look…different." Lynn said, indicating her stomach.

"Yeah…,very." Cath agreed politely, awkwardly. God this was so uncomfortable. Lou and the team had kind of hung around at a distance, not sure which side to take maybe. It must feel awkward for them too. A distraction would be nice right about now.

Then Rachel walked in, looking distraught. Right on cue. She had met her a few times and only knew her as Danny's crazy ex-wife. Now she walked in looked anxious and worried. She looked so scared, and Cath knew she mirrored the same look she had. She was clearly distraught over the fate of a man she was clearly still in love with. She recognized that look.

Lou ran to her and too her aside, talking to her, clearly trying to reassure.

Cath must have been out of touch with a lot of things here because she didn't know of any developments between Danny and his ex-wife. She had never asked, never thought to ask.

Lynn was there standing and talking more with Tanni and Junior because they were probably the only people she was close to here. And that made Cath feel more like a third wheel than ever. She wished Kono and Chin were there, they would be in her corner since they had known her longer. It was different with these two, they knew Lynn and didn't know her.

Then Grace ran in with a little boy in tow. That must be Danny's little boy, the one involved in the whole paternity fiasco. She had never met him, but wow, he was grown. A cute little boy.

And Grace, she was tall now. All grown up from the little girl she remembered from Kono's wedding. That had been the last time she had seen her. Grace looked around the room, clearly not all that familiar with the people in the room. Her mother was talking to Lou, Tani, Junior and Lynn were standing near her. Not too far to make it seem like Cath was standing alone but it felt clear to her. Grace scanned the room and her eyes met Catherine's. Recognizing her, she ran smack into her arms. She had chosen her. Cath felt relieved and not so alone anymore. Grace was the only person who didn't first bulk at her pregnancy before greeting her. She would bet she didn't even notice her tummy as she ran into her arms.

"Aunt Cath." She whispered.

Aunt. She had called her aunt. She had not run to Lynn or Tani or even Junior. Clearly, she didn't feel like she knew then that well. Or maybe she was just happy to see her.

"Hi sweet heart." Cath said, engulfing her in a comforting hug. The kid was obviously distraught about her father and uncle Steve's fate.

"How's my dad and uncle Steve?" She asked fearfully, looking into her eyes.

"They will be ok sweet heart. They are gonna be ok." She reassured, not knowing if it was all for Grace or for herself as well. She prayed that was true.

Rachel and Lou came to stand with the others, the little boy hanging onto his mother's hand. She stopped where Catherine and Grace were hugging and greeted her.

"Hi Catherine." She didn't comment about the pregnancy either. Danny would have told her about it by now, so it wasn't much of a shock. That was a relief to Catherine, because Lynn was not aware of whose pregnancy this was yet. This was awkward enough as it was without someone pointing out the obvious again.

They hugged briefly, Rachel wasn't big on hugs, but this was a different situation. A situation they had in common. Rachel greeted everyone else politely but nobody else got a hug.

Great, team Catherine then it was. She breathed a little better, starting to feel a little warmer now. She had allies. They stood there as a group, together. One big anxious divided family.

….


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Hey guys, here's another one. I hope you like and review. Cheers.**

 **ps- i hear Cath is coming back next episode. Yeayyy!**

 **...**

 **There are moments in our lives when we find ourselves at a crossroad, afraid, confused, without a road map. The choices we make in those moments can define the rest of our days. Of course when faced with the unknown, most of us prefer to turn around and go back. **Lucas OTH.****

 ** **...****

'Aunt.' Grace had called Catherine auntie. She had never yet called her that. She had been uncle Steve's girlfriend for over six months now, and she had never been 'aunt Lynn'. But oh no, Catherine who had been out of the kid's life for just as long was still dear old aunt Cath. That riled.

And why was Catherine back anyway? And she was pregnant. Lynn did not want to think about the implication of that. And how everyone was walking on eggshells around her. As if they knew something she didn't. Something she wouldn't want to know. Like who was the father of that pregnancy? Steve would never keep something like that from her. Now that they had become a proper couple. Steve was not like that. And this pregnancy, hell, it couldn't be Steve's. Steve had been here in Hawaii the whole time and except for…except for the time he …

God no. The time he went to rescue his mother? But that was ridiculous. She laughed in her head. That was ridiculous. Catherine looked like she was about due and well, Steve would have told her if something had happened between the two of them. But would he have? At the time he went away to go rescue his mother, she and him were not quite a couple yet. In fact, their first night together, or would have been their first time together was ruined when Catherine came and whisked him away to Morocco. What if…what if it happened then?

No, she was being ridiculous. If it happened then, then why show up now? Why not all this time?

She was being paranoid when she should be happy. Catherine had always been a part of Steve's life even all this time when she and he had been together. The tie had never been severed. But now it surely would, right? Because obviously Catherine was pregnant with another man's baby and Steve would have no choice but to finally let go. She breathed. This was good, this was good.

This is probably why Steve went off hiking, it was because he was hurt to see Catherine like this. Yeah, it hurt her some to think that he still had feelings for Catherine enough to go take an angry hike when he found out about her pregnancy. But it was good. Once Steve got over the initial shock, he'll learn to let go. And Lynn will be here the whole time. She'll endure it. It was going to work out for sure. Catherine was pregnant, and she never thought she could ever consider that good news. But it really was.

Catherine had probably passed by here and found it convenient to tell Steve about her new situation to which Steve, naturally, didn't take kindly to, took a hike and got himself and Danny injured in the process. And now, she was here waiting to see how he was doing. How both of them were doing. And she'll take off to her new married life. And she'll leave them in peace. Lynn was curious as to who the guy was, how far along she was in her pregnancy, but she didn't dare ask. Because as much as she had reassured herself with her reasoning, she wasn't too sure she wanted to know the truth. The truth could be very different from what she had convinced herself in her mind. She would just wait until all this was clarified. What was more important was that Steve and Danny come out of this alive and in one piece.

The Doctor walked into the waiting room and her musing stopped. The whole room just went quiet as they waited anxiously to hear the news, fingers crossed. By this time Jerry, Kamekona and others had joined the team.

"Tell me you got good news Doc," Lou said, taking the lead.

"Well, Commander McGarret suffered a lot of blood loss, part of his rib was literary torn up but I'm glad to inform you that after surgery, he'll make a full recovery. He's sedated right now so you can't see him for a while but…he'll be fine." The Doctor said.

Sighs of relief were heard all around the room until they realized again that the Doctor had not completed his report. And the way he had led with the good news had everyone even more anxious now. How bad was Danny?

"Thank you, Doc, we're glad to hear that, but how's Danny?" Lou asked. At this point Rachel had caught on to the clue and now she just waited anxiously for the answer, most probably scared to hear it. She let Lou do all the asking, she must have been on pins and needles now as they waited for the Doctor to reply.

Again, they held their breaths, and the Doctor sighed. Crap. That was never a good sign.

"He…uh…"

"Doc?" Lou enquired now, looking anxious and the Doc must have felt cornered by all the anxious faces now looking at him with dread. He should have not led with the good news. The bad only seems so much worse that way. Unless it really was.

"Detective Williams, well, he was touch and go for a moment."

In-drawn breaths. So, it was that bad.

He cracked his scull and it took some doing in surgery. He bled into his brain and his condition was really critical when he was brought in."

"Oh, my God." Rachel exclaimed, clapping her hand on her mouth to keep from crying out. Catherine was now beside her, holding her.

"Doc….is he going to be ok?" Lou asked now, in the Doctor's face.

"We believe so. Right now, he's in a medically induced comma to give his brain time to heal and to reduce th swelling. We don't think there will be any long-term complications, but we'll find out for sure when he comes out of that comma. He's in the ICU right now, his condition is quite severe, but we expect him to make a full recovery." The doctor said reassuringly.

Well, he should have led with that instead of scaring them with all that medical complexities. Now it seemed his reassurance was just that, reassurance. Just so he'll get out of there.

Now they waited, Lynn now had Charlie sitting beside her, trying to calm the little boy from all the anxious atmosphere in the room while Tani did the same with Grace. Catherine was sitting close to Rachel, and the guys were standing at their own corner. The atmosphere was still very gloomy. It made her forget about Catherine's pregnancy and the questions surrounding her for a moment.

…..

Steve opened his eyes and the light hurt, so he closed them again. His mind was starting to make sense of things, where he was, what had happened. He had I.V lines running through him and some nasal prongs on his nose. He remembered.

Oh God, Danny had looked …he had been…

Steve found strength to rip of the nasal prongs from his nostrils as he tried to get up. A hand stayed his, that's when he realised he wasn't alone in the room.

"Danny," He said anxiously. "Danny…he."

"He's going to be fine Steve. The doctor said that he's going to make a full recovery."

"Lynn?" Steve said, somewhat disoriented. How was Lynn here? Somehow it felt strange. Like she was not the one he had expected to be by his side. Iike she was not the one he had wanted to be by his side. Was he dreaming or had Catherine been here? He though he had heard her voice. Or maybe it was from before. It didn't matter, he had to get to Danny now. He was in trouble, last, he had seen him he looked like a ghost. What if they were lying to him and he died because of him. Steve struggled again.

"Steve stay still you'll hurt yourself again, I promise you, Danny is fine. He's in critical condition, but they say he'll be fine."

Somehow, this reassurance would be more believable if Catharine had been the one to saying it. Maybe because she had known Danny longer or maybe because she was closer to Danny or just maybe he would believe it more if it came from Catherine. Talk about being conflicted about trusting issues.

Now in his drug induced mind, which had zero capacity of filtering through what came into his mind from coming out of his mouth, he found himself murmuring her name out loud.

"Catherine."

The hand on his stilled and for a moment he didn't realize why. God, he was so doped up on meds he was supposed to be gagged. He would plead that what he had said under the influence of pain meds was inadmissible. If it were in court it would work, but not with this woman, it would not. He had messed up big time, again.

"What?" Lynn said stiffly.

"Catherine, I thought I heard her voice here. But then again…I don't know. Maybe I was having a dream or something." Oh God, he could not help but keep digging his own grave, now could he? He should be gagged. He had zero vocal control right now and he knew he should not be talking about dreaming about Catherine in front of Lynn right now.

"No, she's here. Or maybe you were dreaming about her, who knows? But she's here, she was here just a moment ago, she went in to check on Danny."

Ah, now that somehow had him breathing in relief. As if, if Catherine was with Danny then he was ok, he was going to be ok. He put a mental gag on his mouth to not blurt that out. What would Lynn think, that he didn't trust her? It was Cath he wasn't supposed to trust. Look at him now?

He felt his hand being rubbed affectionally, "He's going to be ok. And you're going to be ok." Lynn said, reassuringly. "God, I love you Steve. You almost scared me to death." She said with tears in her eyes and Steve felt his heart filling up, much like he was being suffocated. Lynn had never said those words to him before, and neither had he to her. It seemed like they were not quite there yet, but now it seemed they had gotten there. And she couldn't have chosen the most terrible time to blurt those words out, because now he had to say them back. And he couldn't. A week ago, maybe. Before this whole thing started, he might have said it, even if it was to be futuristic, at least in his case. But now, not even that. His feelings were more chaotic than ever before, and he would have preferred to go back to the time when he and Lynn were just in a relationship where no sentimental, emotional overtures were extended. It would have been much easier to sort out his feeling with Cath now in the picture again. Lynn waited for an answering, 'I love you too' but he wasn't ready. He wasn't sure he would ever be ready. Damn, he was not in his right mind right now to be put under so much pressure. So, he took advantage of his pain med altered psych and closed his eyes to will himself back to sleep. He wasn't ready to deal with this right now. His best friend was fighting for his life right now and that was all the pressure he was prepared to deal with at the moment. This complicated death trap of a love triangle can hold off for a minute. In the mean time he was allowed to turn back and run. Just for a moment. Rest.

 **….See you in a bit.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7-**

 **Hey guys, its been a while. Here's another one, I hope you like and review.**

 **...**

 **Whether it's to yourself**  
 **Or looking at someone else**

 **Everybody lies, lies, lies**  
 **It's the only truth sometimes**  
 **Doesn't matter if it's out there**  
 **Somewhere**  
 **Waiting for the world to find**  
 **Or buried deep inside**  
 **Everybody lies-Jason walker.**

...

It had been three days already, people coming and going. Danny was still the same, comatose, no changes, they called it stable. Steve had not been able to move yet due to his many broken ribs, the pain was excruciating, he had tried to get up to go and see him but had been ordered to stay still in his bed. And he complied. That was telling of how much pain he was in.

Cath had commented on his very new cooperative demeanour at a time like this, with a knowing look. Yeah, she knew he had no choice but to comply.

"The pain must be bad." She said with a knowing look.

He grimaced, "You have no idea."

"He's ok, Steve. He's in a comma but the Doctors say he is stable. In fact, one of the Doctors, Dr Mayson, I think is his name. One of the Senior Neuro surgeons assured us that he was going to be ok. So, just relax." Catherine said, catching on the worried look on his face.

"Well, I'd feel better if I could just get to see him for myself you know."

"I know, but you need to get better first. And if you forget for a minute about being Mr tough guy and use those pain killer, maybe you'll receiver faster."

"They make me drowsy. I sleep all the time and you know I hate that."

"I know you hate that, but they have been helping you for the past three days, and I don't mean with just the pain." Cath said meaningfully.

"I have not been avoiding the issue. This is just not the right place to talk about it. I'll tell her." Steve said. He was still trying to find a way to broach the subject with Lynn. Now he just laid his head back and sighed. No one else was in the room right now except for Cath. Which was great, visitors could be overwhelming sometimes.

"Look, she's starting to be suspicious of my presence here. I hear you, this is not the time but, maybe you could just give her a hint, maybe talk to her in private. I can keep up this lie for as long as you want…but…"

"Yeah, you're pretty good at that."

Cath ignored that dig and continued, "…but the truth will have to come out sometime. It's for you to decide when."

They looked at each other for a moment longer. All the emotions apparent in their eyes. The pain, the regret, the pent-up anger, the passion, the hatred and the love. Their past, their present and now there was a future for sure, not knowing if it would be future together or apart yet.

"How was work? I never got to ask you about the most important thing in your life." Steve said, as another dig. He was still pissed at this whole mess.

Catherine took it with a pinch of salt, because that was another dig, "Well, a more important thing came up. I don't know how work is these days."

Then it was her time to ask an honest question, the one question that's been burning in her mind for so long.

"Were you really going to propose to me? That time?" She asked it earnestly, heart anxiously waiting for the answer.

Steve could have given her another snap answer, something on the lines of 'well, I bought the ring and all, what did you think I was going to do with it? Start a pawn shop?' But he saw her honest heart in her eyes as she asked the question and he could not help but be honest too.

"Yes." He said, looking into her eyes. It was the simple truth. That was all he had to give. At that moment, his honest heart.

Catherine extended her hand to hold his, the moments came together into the here and now. So, did the truth. She could have never loved anyone else. And she could not imagine anyone else she would want to start a family with.

"And I would have said yes. With all my heart." She said with a shimmer of tears in her eyes.

"Then why didn't you Cath? Why did you leave like that, blatantly showing me that you wanted anything but that? I have Lyn now."

"Then why haven't you told her about my pregnancy yet?"

"What about your pregnancy Catherine?" A voice at the door said.

Catherine and Steve jumped at the same time to look at the door where the voice had come from. Lynn was standing at the door looking suspicious and pale. They quickly disentangled their hands and just stared, dumbfounded at the source of their discomfort.

"What aren't you telling me Steve?" Lynn asked walking into the room.

Ok, now would be the best time for those pain killers. He really should have told Lynn earlier, he didn't know why he was being such a coward. Only, this was not the battle field in Afghanistan or a Navy Seal Op. He could take those with all the bravery anyone can master. This was different. This situation made him break out in sweat with fear. This was new territory and he really didn't know how to handle it. But he should have told Lynn, he knew that. He had just needed a little bit more time.

Now even that chance had been taken away from him. He had not meant for her to find out like this.

"Ah…Lynn…"

That's all he could say. He hated feeling this way. Like he had been caught cheating. Contrary to how it looked like, he had not cheated on Lynn, the time table said so. He was not that guy. Then why had he not told her about Catherine's pregnancy?

Tani and Junior had walked in with Lynn and now they just sheepishly excused themselves from the room to stand just outside because, come-on, who didn't want in on that juicy piece of a show down that was about to go down anytime now?

"What Steve?" Lynn was not bout to let it go.

"Well, I was waiting to tell you when things had settled down a bit Lynn, and…" Steve looked meaningfully at Catherine who politely excuse herself.

"Lynn…" Steve really had never been so without words, his mind could not cook up anything else to say except her name. Did that make him a liar? A cheater? He wasn't.

Now Lynn was looking at him with that look, and were those tears in her eyes? God, he could not deal with this right now. He just didn't know how he got tangled up in this.

Then suddenly there was a foray of activities outside his door. There was this noise and the then doctors and nurses were rushing somewhere, pagers going crazy. What the hell was happening?

"Room 10, Danny's room. Doc, what the hell is going on?" Lou stopped one doctor in the corridor outside Steve's room to get answers.

"Sorry Sir, I can't talk right now." The doctor said, rushing on. Tani and Junior followed at a run.

"Lou. What is happening out there?!" Steve yelled, and Lou managed to pope in his head to give him an answer.

"I don't know man, it's Danny's room. I just left his room, he seemed stable. Rachel and Grace where there…I don't know. I'm going there now." Lou said, rushing away as well.

"I have to go there." Steve said anxiously, getting off the bed. He had forgotten that he couldn't move. He found himself flat on the floor. The pain in his ribs blinded him for a moment, he may have blacked out for a bit. Cath and Lynn were now on his side.

"Steve, you're not helping right now. Why don't you get back into bed? Come-on, let's get you back into bed." Cath said, holding his one side while Lynn held the other.

He resisted. "I've got to get outa here, Cath, you said he was going to be ok. You said…" He couldn't think, the pain was mind numbing and the fear was making him sweat even more. He had to get up.

"It's what the doctor said. He was stable all this while…"

"Then what could have happened?"

"I don't know. I don't know …Steve …you need to get up." Catherine said, trying to pull him up again. It wasn't working.

Steve was now finding it hard to breathe. The pain was too much, and he was losing consciousness. That could not happen. The reason why he had been enduring all this pain without taking pain killers was because he needed to be alert if anything ever happed to Danny. For all the help he could be in his condition, but he had to be alert. He couldn't knock out now. Not right now with all that was going on. He had to get to Danny. See for himself what was going on. He knew that was impossible, but he had one conscious thought before he blacked out.

"Catherine stop pulling at me, you're pregnant you'll hurt yourself. Call someone, a nurse or…"

"I've already pressed the call button. Someone should be here any minute now." Lynn said,

"Commander McGarrett…how did you get on the floor?" One of the familiar nurses had come in at that moment, he looked at Steve with an 'I told you so' look.

"James…do you know what's happening with Danny Williams? Do you know?" Steve asked anxiously.

"Commander McGarrett…I …I really don't know. They are working on him. Right now, I need to get you back into that bed, but you have to be on pain killers because the movement is not going to be good for you." He said, calling in another nurse for man power.

"No. No pain killers, no sedatives, I'm…"

"Steve you need them, you're going to pass out anyway, from the pain." Cath tried to reason with him.

That was true, he was losing his hold on consciousness right now, but he just could not allow it. He looked at Catherine earnestly.

"Cath will you go and be with Danny right now? See what's going on?" He asked

"Sure." Cath said, patted his arm reassuringly and walked out. Somehow that made Steve breathe a little better. He felt the lights go out on him, but he was better about it. He had needed that sedative.

Lynn watched as Steve was placed back into his bed, he was now out of it, which she felt better about. She could not watch him in so much pain.

She thanked the two nurses before they went out. Now she just sat by his side watching him sleep. She was the one left on his side right now. The one on his side. However, something could not stop nagging at her. The way Steve had asked Catherine to watch over Danny for him. Yeah, she was the one with Steve now but, what was more important to Steve right now? And who had he entrusted with such an important task?

Steve and Danny were like the closest brothers, right now Steve would not be holding his own welfare in any high regard. He had trusted Catherine with the most important person on his mind right now. What was that to say? Yeah, she was the one on Steve's side right now but, somehow that seemed like second place.

….

 **Just being honest**  
 **We're playing for both sides**  
 **It's easy to deceive but it's hard**  
 **When the trust that's broken is mine**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **...**

 **I want to draw something that means something to someone. You know, I want to draw blind faith or a fading summer or just a moment of clarity. It's like when you go and you see a really great band live for the first time, you know, and nobody's saying it but everybody's thinking it: "We have something to believe in again." I want to draw that feeling. But I can't. And if I can't be great at it then I don't want to ruin it. It's too important to me. **Peyton- OTh- and me.****

Catherine rushed to Danny's room only to find him being wheeled out and a team of doctors and nurses rushing away with him. Lou was standing with Rachel while Tani and Junior were trying to console Grace. It was a good thing Charlie had gone for chocolate treats with Jerry earlier, this was such a traumatic sight for such a small child to witness.

"What's going on? Did they say anything?" Cath asked as she joined Lou and Rachel.

"They said he… he had a brain bleed…I don't know…" Rachel started but she was clearly too shaken to be coherent. Cath took her aside and Lou nodded his consent, this was clearly no longer his place of comfort. Rachel needed calming down and Catherine was the best person for that right now.

Cath put her arm on her shoulder and propelled her to a chair nearby, he sat next to her.

"What happened Rachel? What did they say?"

"Uh… he was stable this whole time. Then the machines started going crazy and…God, we didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do. I called a nurse because I didn't know what was happening, and then…," she took a breather, her hands were shaking. Catherine placed her hand on hers to stop them from shaking, and to offer her strength. Rachel nodded in understanding and gratitude then continued to talk.

"They said his stats had suddenly dropped and his heart rate increased…he…they said he was hemorrhaging." She finished that statement and dropped her head. She was trying so bad not to breakdown, but she was losing her tightly held in control. Cath just sat thet with her, one hand holding her shaking one, the other on her back, comforting.

After a few calming breaths, Rachel looked up at Cath, "You shouldn't be stressed like this Catherine, you're pregnant."

Cath smiled, "I can handle it."

"How's Steve doing?" Rachel asked

"Oh, he's passed out right now. From pain."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, he heard about Danny and tried to jump out of bed."

"Ouch! I hope he is alright. He's still refusing those painkillers?"

"Yeah. Up until some minutes ago." Cath said with an exasperated smile.

"Men." Rachel said, "So tough wannabe's." She said with a face.

Cath agreed, seeing that Rachel was holding on to her control using this feigned lightness. She just went with it.

"You tell him…tell him that." Rachel started but chocked on her own tears. "…tell him he's going to be in serious trouble with Daniel if he keeps behaving like this, when he wakes up." She finished, a tear escaping unchecked down her cheeck. Still she smiled.

"I'll tell him. What is it that Danny calls him again? Neanderthal animal?" Cath said, going along with the joke.

"Yes. That's the phrase." Rachel said.

"So, what are they doing to Danny now?" Cath asked

"They've taken him to surgery." Rachel replied. That was not to say he was going to be ok, that was not to say he was going to die. In fact, who knew right now? That was the reason to pray. When there's nothing you can do, nothing you know to do. When no amount of money could buy that which you need. When you can't see what's going on, when you must surrender the ones you love to someone else other than yourself. And hope in your heart that they will be fine. That faith, when you have no choice. It's not really a decision sometimes, to have to let go. That decision, more often that not, is taken away from you. The only choice left there is hope. That faith in your heart that all will work out even without your hand in it. When all you have is faith. You hold on to it, tight.

 **….**

Dr Kalani looked sceptically at Dr Mayson as he stood there besides the table, a drill in his hand, ready to drill into the patient's scull. Again.

"You know what, maybe I should do it this time." Dr Kalani ventured tentatively. This was a senior Neuro surgeon. And senior, not only in the ranks at the Hospital but senior in the medical field, senior in experience and that also meant the years were catching up with him. The guy was starting to make silly slip ups that could very well cost the hospital. And even his carrier.

"Why? Are you doubting me Dr Kalani?" Mayson said, with a derisive tone in his voice.

"Just saying, this is the second time around for you, same procedure on the same patient in a space of three days. There's no shame in admitting that you can get overwhelmed sometimes." Kalani said. The team of doctors around the table kept busy but no doubt feeling the discomfort as the tense atmosphere loomed like a dark cloud.

Dr Mayson paused and glared at Dr Kalani with that superior stare, "I'm sure 35 years of experience has taken away anything in the OR that could overwhelm me."

"35 years of experience should have made you more cautious about handing out insurance cards to patient relatives like what you just did.'

"To what are you referring to Dr?"

"I'm talking about you making out promises to clients, everyone and their mother in this industry knows not to do that. Yet we have witnesses ready to testify that you assured them that he was going to make a full recovery. We don't make such promises even to a guy with a small laceration on his arm, because even that is going to leave a scar."

"Are you really gonna stand there and lecture me about protocol Dr?"

"Well, someone has to. If this guy doesn't make it, we're gonna have a law suit on our hands. This Hospital will be in a shit load of trouble if this get's outa hand." Kalani said, he was not letting up.

"I'll fix it, damn it!" Mayson hissed. The Dr was out of line, but he didn't want to make it worse. Kalani was a member of the hospital board. Mayson had to tread carefully. Senior or not, he had made a mistake and he better make damn sure he fixed it. Kalani was right about one thing, if you had to make assurances like that you better make sure you had God himself backing you up.

"Well, you better. There are scores of people out there waiting anxiously for this guy to wake up. People you may have given false hope." Kalani continued.

"It wasn't false hope, I fixed him." Dr Mayson knew he shouldn't have done that, but it wasn't a crime to be positive, to give hope when it was needed. Now he just had to make sure not to snatch that hope back from those people. He said a little prayer under his breath and took the drill to Danny's head.

…

 **Albert Camus once wrote, "Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken." But I wonder if there's no breaking then there's no healing, and if there's no healing then there's no learning. And if there's no learning then there's no struggle. But the struggle is a part of life. So must all hearts be broken? Nathan**

 **...**

Steve woke up, his mind still a little dull from pain killers. He remembered what had put him in this position though. He remembered well, but he was about to do It again. He made to get off his bed, this time carefully. He had to find out what was going on, last time he was awake, it didn't look too good.

"Steve, hey. I though you would be awake about now." Catherine said, like before, she was the one on his side when he woke up again this time.

"Hey, what time is it? Are you even supposed to be here?" Steve asked, he knew it was night time and though they had a lot of flexibility at this hospital, visiting hour still applied. He asked the question because he was afraid to ask the one that was at the top of his mind.

"I have a lot of charm too you know. It turns out, a pregnant woman has a lot of reach." Cath said.

"They should not let you in at a time like this because you are pregnant. What time is it anyway?' Steve asked.

"Oh, it is morning. Early morning that is. It should be dawn soon."

"Catherine don't tell me you slept here."

"I didn't, don't worry. I just needed to do something for you because I know they will give you a hard time in the morning."

"Do what for me?'

Cath got up from her chair, conspiratorially looked out the corridor both sides to search for in-coming, then she disappeared for a minute. When she came back she was wheeling a wheelchair.

"What are you doing Cath."

"I'm taking you to see Danny."

Oh God, he was alive. Steve breathed, that was the question he had not wanted to ask and now it had been answered for him. He dropped his head back on the pillow with relief, his eyes closed.

"He's alive?" He whispered.

"He's alive." Cath said with a smile.

He opened his eyes again to look at Cath. How is it that she always got him so well? As he looked at her, he knew. It was because she loved him. And he knew then too that he had never stopped loving her.

"Thank you, Catherine." He whispered

Cath just smiled with love in her eyes. "Come-on, let's get you out of here." She said helping him carefully onto the wheelchair.

Steve winced with pain as he was getting onto the wheelchair, but he was not about to complain.

Cath wheeled him out, checking in the corridors, hiding from hospital staff. It was like their own little adventure again. Their own little Op.

"Hey Rollins, watch out for your 11:00, orderly coming."

"Copy that Commander." Cath said, hiding him as the orderly passed. After checking that it was all clear again, she got back into the corridor.

"Hey Lieutenant?"

"Commander?"

"The... uh... squeaking from the wheels is going to give away our six. Slow down."

Cath laughed, "Shut up sailor. I got this."

Finally, they reached Danny's room, and all jokes subsided. It was his first time to see him like this. Lifeless but for the tubes breathing for him. His heart clenched.

Cath wheeled him closer and he just sat there in his wheelchair, looking at Danny. He had no words to say, nothing. Or maybe because the tears chocking him will finally give way if he did open his throat to say anything.

"I'm sorry." Was all he managed to whisper hoarsely. Cath pulled up a chair beside him and held his hand. Sharing silently in his pain. She held his hand and dropped her head on his shoulder as they both just looked at Danny, silently praying that he would make it out.

...

That's how Lynn found them as she walked into that hospital room that morning. She had come in early today, wanted to be the first there. To see Steve. To talk to him. She knew what was going on now. Knew that Catherine was pregnant with Steve's child and when it had happened. It had been a mistake, Steve had said. But looking at them now as they leaned on each other like that, their backs to her, concentration obviously on Danny, Lynn knew then that some mistakes were not necessarily mistakes. They were a way for God to get things back to where they were meant to be. And as she looked on at the picture Cath and Steve made, two identical brunet heads leaning on each other, God could not have made a better picture. And she wasn't part of it.

She had brought him some homemade casserole, she had made it herself. And she had planned to tell him that she would stay, that If he chose her she would stay. Now she realized that Steve really had no choice to make, it had already been made for him by destiny. And she was no part of that destiny.

She turned now, dejectedly and walked away, Steve and Catherine never knowing that she had been there. She walked to the nurses' station and gave the casserole dish to the fist nurse she saw. And walked out of the hospital. She would check in on him and Danny of course, constantly, but right now she felt she needed to be out of the way.

…..

 **Who says truth is beauty after all? And who said love should break us when we fall?.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9- Finale.**

 **...**

 **Most of our lives are a series of images, they pass us by like towns on a highway. But sometimes a moment stuns us as it happens and we know that this instant is more than a fleeting image. We know that this moment, every part of it, will live on forever. Lucas**

 **...**

Later that day, with Grace holding onto her father's hand and the Ohana sitting around his room to watch him sleep again, Danny moved his hand.

Grace had just been looking at him as usual, willing him to wake up. Wondering if he ever would, when she felt her hand being squeezed. At fist she didn't register it because she had not been expecting it. Then she realized that the person in that bed, the father who was supposed to be comatose was the one whose hand had squeezed hers just then. She froze in shock and looked at him more closely, then at the hand. It moved again, squeezing hers, and she gasped in shocked exuberance. She wanted to scream.

"What? What Grace?" Her mother asked anxiously.

"He…he squeezed my hand." She stuttered, not sure if she should hope.

That's when he opened his eyes and the room went quiet as they tried to assess if he was all there.

"Monkey." He whispered drowsily.

The room was full of gasps and shocked laughter. Tears of joy, whispered prayers of gratitude. No defects. He was awake, and he was all there.

…..

Steve was later wheeled back into Danny's room, this time with the consent of the doctors. He was beyond relieved to hear that Danny had finally woken up.

"Nice of you to decide to join us in the land of the living Danno." Steve teased as he was being wheeled into Danny's room.

"How's it that you always manage to look worse than me Steven? I'm the one who's been living in the after life for the past week and still you manage to look worse for wear than me." Danny complained, to the laughter of his friends in the room.

"Told you, I'll always have you beat in the damaged category Danno." Steve said with a smile. "How are you doing buddy? You had me scared there."

"No thanks to you. Only you would put us through all this chaos just because you can't handle babies." Danny said, in a false rant.

"And there he is." Lou said, looking meaningfully at Danny. "I would've thought the doctors would remove some of that brain enough to slow that mouth down." Lou joked.

"Oh, I'm still here babe. All me." Danny said back to Lou. They shook hands, laughing light heartedly.

"We better leave you two to iron this out." Lou said, leading the way out, leaving the brothers alone.

Left alone now, Steve in his wheelchair and Danny propped up in the hospital bed, they measured each other's injuries.

"You ok?" Danny asked, taking in the wheelchair and the bruises.

"I'm good. You?" Steve asked.

"I'll live." They looked at each other for a moment more, appreciating all they had been through.

"I'm sorry man."

"Don't Steve. You've got nothing to be sorry for." Danny said dismissively. "So, I haven't seen Lynn since I woke up. She still around?"

"Really? That's what you've gotta go with right now…?"

"It's why we are here in this hospital in the first place, isn't it? Have you finally decided which lady you're taking to the altar?"

Steve looked away and sighed. "I don't know where Lynn is. She hasn't been around since yesterday and she isn't answering her phone." He confided.

"I take it you finally told her?"

"She knows yes, but we haven't really talked…"

"Let me stop you right there Steve. I know you, and I know right now you are feeling guilty for Lynn. I mean, the lady has been with you for over six months now, right? You have an obligation to her, to explain things to her face to face at least, she deserves that much. But that's all you owe her Steve. Don't, for fear or guilt or any other reason let the woman you love, your destiny, slip away from you again. Listen, if you let fear control you? Guilt? It will take all the best things from you. As well as pride. Don't let them win. Steve, you have it all within your reach now, all you could ever want. Fear will snatch it all away from you if you let it. Faith will give it all to you. I'm your best friend and I know you. Don't let this chance slip away from you again just because you fear getting hurt again, or because you feel you owe Lynn. Because you don't. You owe yourself some happiness." Danny said earnestly.

"Jeez, when did you become a preacher Daniel? The afterlife experience?"

"That sure did it. And as soon as I opened my eyes and saw Rachel's tears of relief, I decided that I was never again going to fear. She loves me, I love her, everything else fades away. All we need is to take a leap of faith, and we'll have it made. Everything we've always wanted but were too afraid to have. If you think of anything long enough, you'll find a reason not to do it. That reason is fear. But you, my friend, are gonna go out there, and choose with your heart. Only with your heart."

Steve hated to admit it, but Danny made a lot of sense.

"The doctors must have added something into your brain during surgery. Remind me to thank them." Steve chided.

"Animal." Danny said, laughing. Glad he was alive. They were both alive.

….

 **Three months later.**

Catherine's labor had been long and strenuous, and Steve had thought it would never be over. There had been some complications and Steve had been kicked out of the room. He had nearly worn the floor out with his pacing, and Danny's reassurance based on his own experience could not calm him down. Because for all his experience, he was pacing too, just as distraught. The women were calmer. Finally, Steve was called back in to help with the labor, the baby was almost here. Everything was back on track.

Then the wail of a baby was heard and everyone in the corridor stopped pacing to rejoice. That was Steve's baby crying, oh God.

Steve held his baby much later now, in his big arms, a bouncing, McGarett big, baby boy. He was going to sleep for a week after all the stress this little guy had given him. He had never been so freaked out. Now he held his baby in his arms and it was surreal. Curly back hair like his and Cath's, a pair of blue eyes. Now he was dressed and warm, Cath was still in her bed, still exhausted even after her resent rest ,but alright. She was fine, thank God. Mother and son were fine. Steve breathed easy.

"Careful with Rambolittle there, Steve. Don't drop him." Danny said jokingly

"Shut up Daniel, that's not his name." Steve said.

"I don't know." Cath said considering. "It's sounds kinda' catchy."

"Catherine." Steve warned jokingly.

"I think I get to have anything I want right now McGarrett." Cath said.

"Really?" Steve asked in shock. "And you want this not-name?"

Everyone laughed. "Got ya." Lou said, he had been in on the joke.

"Hey but come on, its not that bad." Danny defended

"Oh, it is that bad." Tani said

"Well, as Godfather, I declare it his nickname. I am allowed that much, am I not?" Danny said, and everyone laughed. It was a different atmosphere from months ago, in a hospital. This was a very special occasion.

"I'm gonna have to rethink that Godfather thing if you insist on calling my son with a cartoon name." Steve said lightly.

"Well, I'm just tying to help out. You still haven't come up with a name. You got nothing." Danny said

"Oh, I got something."

"Oh yeah, what?" Danny asked curiously.

Steve exchanged a knowing look with Cath. "We got, John Daniel McGarrett." Steve said.

"Wow nice." Everyone just exclaimed happily. Danny was just too lost from words as Steve handed him the baby to hold. He was so touched. He looked at his best friend with a shimmer of tears in his eyes.

"Congratulations man." That's all he could say.

The baby was then handed to everyone of his friends to hold. First Lou, Rachel, Tani, Junior, Jerry, Kame and Grace. Then he was back in his father's arms.

"When is your wedding uncle Steve?" Grace asked, breaking the touching moment.

"Oh, ah…we haven't decided yet." He said looking questioningly at Cath.

"Oh, come on, you're not procrastinating again are you Steve? You've already proposed, what's there to wait for? Tell you what, we'll all help on the mission." Danny said

"If it's got you involved we gonna have to abort."

"Its my job as your best man. Make sure that the mission is complete. Rach is really good at wedding planning." Danny said, indicating Rachel with a proud smile. "This still has to be done in haste, because although our Rambolittle has been born out of wedlock already, we need to make sure he doesn't grow up to realize it."

"Only you could say 'wedlock' buddy." Steve said, not taking his eyes off his son.

"Tell you what, we will all contribute but I say the bride has the final say," Rachel said with a smile at Catherine.

"I'm not much of a wedding planner Rach, but I do know one thing, we're never gonna get it done if these too are involved. They'll never agree on anything." Cath said, looking at Steve and Danny.

"The lady is right gents." Lou said. "How about we leave the pink roses and color stuff to the ladies."

"I don't know if control freak here can manage it, but I'm with you Lou." Danny said.

"Oh, I can manage that." Steve said. "But pink is not a color, Cath. No pink."

"And there he is, thy control freakiness. Can't even give the ladies a little pink." Danny said, his hand waving at Steve. "So, that's it then. Ladies you've got the wedding, have at it. We've got the bachelors party" Danny said, to the deep voiced cheers of the guys.

The rest of the day was spent with the ladies talking colors and the guys out of their way as much as they could manage.

…

 **Happiness comes in many forms-in the company of good friends, in the feeling you get when you make someone else's dream come true, or in the promise of hope renewed. It's okay to let yourself be happy because you never know how fleeting that happiness might be… Lucas**


End file.
